Tag Archives: News Release

Media dilution is an understatement. It’s impossible to keep up with thousands of information channels we have at our fingertips today. With media dilution, PR has completely changed. As a result, the perception is that PR’s impact has become watered down, creating a vortex that leaves public relations pros looking for ways to demonstrate ROI, add value, and meet the demands of smart in-house marketers who require measurement against pre-determined KPIs.

Long gone are the days when sending out a press release would generate meaningful coverage. With the exception of media “alerts” or “advisories,” it’s been years since we’ve sent releases to producers and reporters and expected them to take action. This change is in large part due to the fact that media outlets have very limited staff nowadays, often operating with skeletal crews and low morale. They’re inundated with emails from PR people and simply do not have the bandwidth to read them all.

It’s important to note the quality of news release writing, whether by PR agencies, PR departments, or corporations, has always been criticized by media. Several years ago, the Wall Street Journal announced (ironically through a press release) that they were no longer accepting press releases. The New York Times responded on the story the very next day. It’s also important to note, later that same week Rosica secured a front-page story on the Wall Street Journal. Through what means? A news release.

The moral of this story is that sometimes you need to go against the grain. While pitch letters now dominate reporters’ email inboxes, news releases have become the path less traveled, which means you’re more likely to get a reporter’s attention. When everyone else stops distributing press releases, send them – keeping in mind the tips below.

Whether you are posting news and information on your website, sending it through an email marketing campaign, or sharing it on social, a news release represents an unexpected communique. Ask yourself: How many press releases do you, as a businessperson, receive daily, weekly, or even monthly? We are inundated, however, with e-newsletters, email marketing solicitations, advertisements, banner ads, and other overt promotional pieces.

As an example, we have many clients who send direct mail and email marketing campaigns with news releases on Rosica agency letterhead, which present as third-party endorsements in a format that is not widely used for email marketing and sales letters.

We’ve also shared releases at client conferences, meetings, and tradeshows — and synopsize, search optimize, and syndicate this content on blogs and across social media channels.

Reason 2: News release content can bolster SEO efforts

When posting a news release to PRWeb (SEO version) or PR Newswire, you are introducing fresh, branded content on the web. If you effectively build links to that release online, this content can be found by people searching for your organization’s name. This means that incorporating optimized keywords and phrases into a release is an imperative.

Google is always looking for fresh content. Posting a synopsis of a release on your website or blog provides fresh content for your site, rather than duplicate content. With the synopsis, be sure to include a link to the full news release (i.e., PR Newswire or PRWeb) online.

Reason 3: News releases help manage perception

If you effectively disseminate news release content and promote it through SEO then the likelihood of this managed content appearing on page one of a Google search for your name will be heightened greatly.

A key strategy in communications today is search engine domination. Simply put, this is about developing and promoting fresh content to manage perception online — what people find and learn about your organization. Therefore, managing the first page or two of organic search results for your name is paramount. Most people never leave page one, so this effort can help protect your image.

As you can see, news releases still have much to offer. Often times, what’s old is new again, so long live news releases.

To learn more about what news releases can do for your organization, contact pr@rosica.com.

Rosica specializes in health-related strategic internal and external corporate communications and media relations. We are helping corporations, public and private schools, universities, and nonprofits with COVID-19 communications preparedness and management.